Nue Harad
The trio's adventures in Nue Harad. The team excitedly wandered around before finding the Guild Hall, and established contact with the Guild. Miri handed over her collected trophies from their travels to the gnome secretary, Pladious, including the vertebrae of Omen. The Guild gave her a monthly allowance in advance for her trek across the country, and invtied Deimos and Maude to be indoctrinated as Miri's assistants. They agreed, Deimos under the name Andredge. Leaving the Guild Hall, the group found an inn near the docks for the night. Miri, happy to be in Nue Harad finally, began a drinking contest with locals and won some coin from it. Down time began for the group. Miri sweated through a week of potion making, and read a book about djinn, which ended up being a romance novel, and learned nothing new about djinn. Maude spent time at a local bookshop, buying books and paper. Maude also found an elf herbalist and the group signed up for a mission to help her assistant with an issue in the woods. A wyvern was causing issues for the assistant, preventing him from gathering herd for the herbalist. The group devised a plan to trick the beast, and with Deimos and Miri making an illusory cow, tricked the wyvern into a surprise ambush. The group was invited to a moon fair in the Native Plains district. The festival comprised mostly of elves and orcs. Miri and Deimos had fun engaging in the culture and learning about the locals, and attempted the traditional dance with another. Maude conversed with another elf, of whom informed her she was abnormal and they her type of elf comes from deep within the Heartwoods as ancient guardians. The next day, the group searched for a hag deep in the nearby woods per Deimos' request. She lived in a bushel of branches that formed a nest of sorts. Deimos talked with the hag about how he would go about collecting the components needed for his item, after trading with her a magic mirror that the group found in an abandoned building earlier. Following that venture, the group headed North to locate some pesky trolls per request of the Guild. They met up with another Guild agent and her associate, Sister Naaheed and Selina. Both also identified themselves as followers of Lidia and the splinter faction of the Guild. Maude asked many questions and almost raised suspicions of the two newcomers, but they seemingly waved it off. The group of five devised a plan to deal with the trolls. Selina and Sister Naaheed dealt with three out of the five trolls, and the trio took out the two of them. Miri put to use her mines, and Maude and Deimos successfully hid any use of magics. After burning the bodies, the group took a collective pause before deciding on whether or not to camp of head back to Nue Harad. The group of five chose to continue back to Nue Harad. As they all headed back to Nue Harad, Selina and Sister Naaheed offered to open up their group to the trio. More questions were asked between both parties. Ultimately, the trio decided to think about joining, and the two women informed the trio that they were headed West of the mountains. When the group reached Nue Harad, the trio split off to head to the docks. On the way there, a man waving a chime in an alleyway targeted Deimos. Deimos' rod chimed back. The man seemed to be an Arcanist, offering to Deimos to meet up in a few hours (and only Deimos) after Deimos finished escorting Maude and Miri. Deimos agreed. The trio arrived back at the inn by the docks. Deimos left after some time, and Maude and Miri trailed behind him. Deimos was aware of Maude and Miri following him. Deimos made a deal with the strange man, agreeing to meeting in three days time outside of the city. Maude and Miri plan on tagging along as well. In the meantime, the group traveled North of Nue Harad to visit the Matron, of whom the group was informed about from the wood hag. There was little issue getting to the broken tree, but all members of the group had visions before reaching the Matron. Deimos saw a little boy bleeding from the chest. Maude saw Adelaide and her brother. Miri saw a dead agent, flashing in lightning with Ennius' face. All of the trio were unnerved, and Miri wanted to leave immediately. They found an opening at the base of the tree, and entered. The tunnel was long, dark, and did not feel like an earthen fixture, but more of soft tissue, like a throat. They reached the end of the tunnel without any other visions or issues, and found a naked woman in a bed surrounded by green flames. It was the Matron herself. Deimos conversed with her the most, and made a deal with her. Miri and Maude were roped into the deal, but will gain little from it themselves. Deimos got his evil soul, necessary to construct a weapon of his, and was satisfied. All three had to kiss the Matron to seal the deal. Miri kissed the Matron tight lipped, first kiss, and quickly, as she wanted to get out of there as soon as she could. Now in debt to the Matron, all three await the time to be called upon by her, with mixed emotions of anxiety, fear, and concern. The group headed back to Nue Harad, but needed to camp for a night. A group of bandits chasing a halfling rushed by the camp, running into the group. Before Miri could understand what was going on, Maude attacked the bandits with magic. Deimos lit himself on fire, killing many bandits. Miri was furious about the entire situation, as Maude and Deimos exposed themselves as Arcanists to a civilian of Nue Harad. The group tensely discussed what to do with the halfling after taking care of the bandits, Miri truly upset with the other two. The found that the halfling lived in the Merchant's Quarter with his mother. They left him go after thoroughly scaring him, and Miri fired a warning shot. He tripped and fell while running away. Upon return to Nue Harad, they talked with the innkeeper, Gormish, to learn that his daughter was missing for the past two days. She mysteriously disappeared. The team did some investigating and discovered that there was a male dwarf involved when Ibel ran her errands in the Merchants Quarter. Miri rounded up Ibel's friends and bribed them to speak. Only one knew, and gave Miri limited information, such as when he arrived, that he possibly came from wealth, and so on. Miri decided to investigate Ibel's room, where she found a letter on her desk, essentially saying "Let's head out tomorrow," signed by "Your love." The team decided to put this quest on hold, thinking that Ibel couldn't be too far from the city. Deimos and Maude engaged a group of sailors at the bar, and learned that the sailors were having issues building their boat. At night, they would keep watch to make sure no one was stealing from them, but they would all fall asleep, and when they woke, the wood was taken from them, leaving the boat in a perpetual state of construction. The group offered to help out that night. They patrolled with two of the crew, of which fell asleep by magical means. Maude pretended to fall asleep, and Miri pulled the sailors to a safer location. Deimos hid. A fey creature was the culprit of the theft, turning wood into a liquid-like form. Maude sent Mordecai to talk with the fey, but was unsuccessful. The creature got away, and took the wood with it. The crew was unhappy with the trio, but after some explanation they were less frustrated. The crew chose to take matters into their own hands after gaining knowledge as to what they were dealing with. The trio went to rest That evening, they met up with Aemir and other civilians that seemed to be Arcanists. Deimos and Miri introduced themselves, with Miri posing as Deimos' daughter, and Deimos as a dotting father, presenting themselves with false names. Maude trailed behind the group, keeping an eye out for anything suspicious. She was caught by a dwarven man and almost blew it for the whole group. However, Maude made a graceful recovery. The caravan made it out of the city. They all chatted with another and exchanged knowledge with another, and had some fun. Thiope and Nonious were two of the travel companions, and Maude quickly made friends with Thiope. After a few hours of travel, they reached a small village, where everyone immediately began to drink. In the morning, the trio discovered everyone to have disappeared, even the innkeeper. Only Nonious was left. The trio searched the town, which was deserted. There were no signs of it being lived in ever. They waited for an ambush... and nothing came their way. They followed down the trail, where they found a split trail that diverged from the main path. Taking the smaller path, they ran into a large monster which took the body of the halfling they saw a few nights ago. It was an Oni, which put up a tough fight, but the group bested it. Miri wanted to continue down the path, but Maude and Deimos insisted on returning to the fake town. They took the remaining horse that Deimos had purchased and returned to Nue Harad. On the way, they found a burned clearing in the forest and a loggers cabin. In this cabin were orders for wood to build a ship, but the entire surrounding area was burned. The group concluded that this was where the wood from the ship was being logged, and this was possibly the reason why the fey was so angry with the sailors. The group continued on to Nue Harad. The dropped off Nonious at his house and returned to the inn they've been staying at, the Portly Captain. Ibel had still not returned. The group felt unaccomplished and unsuccessful in any of the tasks they attempted to help with in Nue Harad. Checking in with the sailors, they found that the crew was able to deal with the fey themselves, as evidenced by the set of fey wings mounted on the wall. The trio rested for the day, down in the dumps. The next day, Miri and Maude went to the Guild library and did some research. Miri read about the history of Leerain and of Leera herself, as well as creatures native to Leerain. Maude tried to read up anything on Arcanists, while also dicovering Lidia's full name - Lidia Naaheed, which was a big shock. Deimos spent time constructing his magic item, and began his ritual one evening while Maude and Miri slept. He was interrupted though by urgent knocking at their door. A man was asking for Miri, and she responded that she would be there as soon as she could be. Maude joined Miri to visit the Viceroy, while Deimos stayed behind. The Viceroy lived in a large house with many objects in it, but an important broach was stolen from her. The broach was a relic left from her husband past. Miri and Maude began to investigate, finding a major clue - a blood trail through a tamper window. Maude and Miri followed with haste, hoping to catch the criminal. The blood trail lead them to an alleyway where there was a young woman, torn to shreds. Moving some debris around, the word "S C A R S" was written in blood. Maude zombified the body and the two women headed off. They managed to get into the woods, but were beginning to lose the trail. Suddenly, a young woman ran into them from the direction they were walking towards. They stopped her, learned that she was Ibel, the missing daughter of Gormish. Miri and Maude intimidated Ibel into leading them to the group Ibel told them about, the one she was running from. Maude sent Mordecai to Deimos to alert him. Ibel followed her tracks back to the danger she fled from. Small pairs patrolled the encampment, and Maude and Miri had a conflict with one of them. Ibel ran off again during the conflict, and after Maude and Miri took care of the first patrol, they attempted to run after Ibel again. This time, they ran into Deimos, of whom was fighting a different patrol, consisting of a demon and two humans named Dillon and Markham. They Killed the demon and forced Dillon and Markham to march them to Aemir, who seems to be in charge of this terrorist organization. They were taken to the camp, where they talked to Aemir. They were unsuccessful in their attempts to persuade Aemir to not attack Nue Harad that very night. Maude, looking through Mordecai's eyes, noticed that about 100 feet away was a pool of blood, with someone in the middle of it... and five hanged bodies. Maude cried out, alerting Aemir, and a battle begun. Miri killed Aemir with a shot to the head. Dillon and Markham ran away. The trio ran over to the blood pit after dealing with Aemir, Miri wanting to stop whatever ritual was going on. Deimos told her no. Maude was distraught after finding Thiope hanged and bled. Another body was an orchish woman that the group met in the inn where the mystery was unsolved. Miri tried talking to Maude, but it was useless. Miri began to explore the houses of the encampment, getting through several of them before the ritual was complete. The man at the center plunged into the shallow pool, and transformed into a huge, bloody flesh demon. The battle with the demon began. Deimos created darkness and flung blasts at it. Maude powered up Mordecai. Miri shot blindly into the darkness. It was a long and strenuous fight, all three ducking and weaving throughout the encampment, trying their best to dodge what they could. Miri and Deimos were blasted by the demon's hunger, taking strength from Deimos and speed from Miri. Deimos went down, but before the demon could finish him off for good, Miri ended it's short lived life. They regrouped, and brought down the hanged bodies. Maude preserved the bodies with a ritual, and Miri fell asleep. Deimos explored the encampment, finding papers with unknown writing on them, money, and a disturbing sight - many bodies were lying in cots, drugged and unresponsive. He did not disturb the bodies, but concluded that they were being used as sacrifice to create more demons. Deimos also found a Sanguine Collar of bone with a ruby broach in it. It was the broach that Miri was tasked with recovering, but now changed. Deimos attempted to wear the collar, but Balen got angry with him. Ibel must have escaped a cot and was returning to her father. The next morning, Miri was informed of what Maude and Deimos had been up to. Miri and Deimos checked in on the bodies of the slain cultists, including Aemir, while Maude checked in on the unresponsive people. Maude brewed a tea to help detoxify their systems in hopes of waking one of the persons. She was able to rouse one, but had to deal with Aclae, a confused but devoted follower of Aemir, unaware that he was an Arcanist. Miri and Deimos discussed what the next best option was. Deimos offered a magic dagger that he found on one of the cultist's bodies, but Miri hesitated, concerned that the Guild would find it. She told Deimos she would think about it. The bodies of the cultists slain the previous night were still dead, no changes to be found. All three reconvened, deciding to talk to the drugged people that were waking. The told the people that they needed to stay in this location, and we would be sending agents to fetch them. They were too weak and confused to argue. The trio headed back to Nue Harad, lugging a cart with Thiope in it. Rushing to return to the Church, they were all anxious about her fate, thinking they could pay to revive her. They covered her body when they get close to the city, heading straight to the Church. They walked in and demanded to see the Vicor. They were granted access and descended to lower levels of the Church, entering a small stone room. Thiope was placed on an alter. The Vicor began a process that was very dangerous for the group, submitting them to an interview of truth. They all managed to answer the Vicor's questions without giving anything away, such as the Vicor asking "Has she committed any crimes?" and Miri responding, "I do not believe so." It was a tense, high stakes situation. The Vicor left the room, and returned with news that Moradun had decreed that Thiope would be a great danger to the world, and thus, could not be brought back. Maude was heart broken, and did everything she could to convince the Vicor otherwise. He remained grounded in his decision, and left the group in the room to grieve. Miri and Deimos sympathized with Maude, who was in deep denial. The trio returned to the Portly Captain, bringing the body of Thiope with them until they had a better idea of what to do with her. Miri needed to check in with the Guild, and Deimos went with her. Maude headed back to the inn. Miri and Deimos talked with Padious to warn him of what happened and where the encampment was located. Miri then went to the Viceroy's home, impatient. She informed the Viceroy of what happened, but did not mention the demon. The Viceroy was saddened by the changed broach, but agreed to have the collar checked out before wearing it. Deimos and Miri returned to the Portly Captain, and Maude was no where to be found. This surprised the two, and they could not find Maude in their search for her. Maude, in the meantime, headed back to the Church to have a private conversation with the Vicor. She attempted to persuade him by giving him information. She gave him Aemir's journal, which he took. He did not change his mind about Thiope. Deimos was in a full state of panic by the time Maude returned. They talked about what happened, and scolded Maude, who (at the time) still thought she made a good decision. They finally rested for the evening, Deimos working on his item, Maude meditating, and Miri in a goliath bed. The following day, everyone completed their own chore. Miri purchased two more guns and alchemy supplies to brew potions with almost all of her money. Maude read, and Deimos did (____). That night, Maude had a nightmare, of the Vicor coming to the inn and finding her, dominating her which damned Nemesis, and then killing her and got Deimos killed in the process too. In reality, Deimos had an urgent knock at his door. It was Nemesis, his daughter. She told him quickly they had to leave immediately. He tried to talk more with her, but was cut short. Maude woke up, then awoke Miri. In order to make it appear as if Nemesis struggled against the trio, Miri had to knock her out. Deimos turned Maude and Miri invisible, and they all ran. Deimos ran to the stable and saddled up his horse, Bill. Maude headed West. Miri sprinted East, headed toward the Matron. The Matron was clothed this time, and not surprised to see Miri. Miri begged for another deal, anything of Miri's for help against the Church and Guild. Miri told the Matron everything that happened, and did her best to persuade her, implying that "they won't stop, especially if they find you... how many times do you want to move?" The Matron was intrigued. In exchange for anything of Miri's, Miri would be getting power. The Matron asked for Miri's pistols, and then scryed for the location of Maude and Deimos to point Miri in their direction. Somewhat relieved, Miri ran to the false town, where Maude and Deimos were resting. The reunion of the trio was sad, with Maude and Miri meeting first, and crying upon seeing another. Deimos returned from Nue Harad, where he had sought Nemesis. All three held another for a long time, then slept. The next day, the Miri told them of where she went and her new deal with the Matron. Maude and Deimos went back to Nue Harad in disguise to obtain more rations and supplies, and were successfully undetected. Miri posted up at the false town, laying out mines. Deimos stepped on a mine upon arriving at the town. All three donned their new clothes, drab, dark, and travel appropriate. Miri attempted to cut her hair, but needed Deimos' help. They tucked away their possessions, and prepared to lay low.